The present invention is directed to specific colorant compounds and to ink compositions containing these colorant compounds. More specifically, the present invention is directed to specific methine colorant compounds and to ink compositions containing these colorant compounds. One embodiment of the present invention is directed to a colorant compound of the formula 
wherein R is an alkyl group, an aryl group, an arylalkyl group, or an alkylaryl group, and wherein R can be joined to the phenyl moiety to form a ring, each Rxe2x80x2, independently of the others, is a halogen atom, an alkyl group, an alkoxy group, a nitrile group, a nitro group, an amide group, or a sulfonamide group, z is an integer of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4, n is an integer representing the number of carbon atoms in each repeat alkylene oxide unit, x is an integer representing the number of repeat alkylene oxide units, and A and B each, independently of the other, are hydrogen atoms, halogen atoms, tertiary amino groups, imine groups, ammonium groups, cyano groups, pyridine groups, pyridinium groups, ether groups, ester groups, amide groups, sulfate groups, sulfonate groups, sulfide groups, sulfoxide groups, phosphine groups, phosphonium groups, phosphate groups, nitrile groups, mercopto groups, nitro groups, sulfone groups, acyl groups, azo groups, cyanato groups, alkyl groups, alkoxy groups, aryl groups, aryloxy groups, arylalkyl groups, arylalkyloxy groups, alkylaryl groups, or alkylaryloxy groups, wherein said colorant has no more than one xe2x80x94OH, xe2x80x94SH, or secondary amino group per molecule. Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a compound comprising two or more moieties of the formula 
wherein R is an alkyl group, an aryl group, an arylalkyl group, or an alkylaryl group, and wherein R can be joined to the phenyl moiety to form a ring, each Rxe2x80x2, independently of the others, is a halogen atom, an alkyl group, an alkoxy group, a nitrile group, a nitro group, an amide group, or a sulfonamide group, z is an integer of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4, n is an integer representing the number of carbon atoms in each repeat alkylene oxide unit, x is an integer representing the number of repeat alkylene oxide units, and A and B each, independently of the other, are hydrogen atoms, halogen atoms, tertiary amino groups, imine groups, ammonium groups, cyano groups, pyridine groups, pyridinium groups, ether groups, ester groups, amide groups, sulfate groups, sulfonate groups, sulfide groups, sulfoxide groups, phosphine groups, phosphonium groups, phosphate groups, nitrile groups, mercapto groups, nitro groups, sulfone groups, acyl groups, azo groups, cyanoto groups, alkyl groups, alkoxy groups, aryl groups, aryloxy groups, arylalkyl groups, arylalkyloxy groups, alkylaryl groups, or alkylaryloxy groups, wherein said moieties each contain no xe2x80x94OH groups, xe2x80x94SH groups, or primary or secondary amino groups, said moieties being linked by a central atom or group of atoms or bonded to a polymer. Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a phase change ink comprising a phase change carrier and a colorant compound comprising one or more moieties of the formula 
wherein R is an alkyl group, an aryl group, an arylalkyl group, or an alkylaryl group, and wherein R can be joined to the phenyl moiety to form a ring, each Rxe2x80x2, independently of the others, is a halogen atom, an alkyl group, an alkoxy group, a nitrite group, a nitro group, an amide group, or a sulfonamide group, z is an integer of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4, n is an integer representing the number of carbon atoms in each repeat alkylene oxide unit, x is an integer representing the number of repeat alkylene oxide units, and A and B each, independently of the other, are hydrogen atoms, halogen atoms, tertiary amino groups, imine groups, ammonium groups, cyano groups, pyridine groups, pyridinium groups, ether groups, ester groups, amide groups, sulfate groups, sulfonate groups, sulfide groups, sulfoxide groups, phosphine groups, phosphonium groups, phosphate groups, nitrite groups, mercapto groups, nitro groups, sulfone groups, acyl groups, azo groups, cyanoto groups, alkyl groups, alkoxy groups, aryl groups, aryloxy groups, arylalkyl groups, arylalkyloxy groups, alkylaryl groups, or alkylaryloxy groups, wherein, when the colorant compound contains exactly one of the moieties, the moiety contains no more than one xe2x80x94OH, xe2x80x94SH, or primary or secondary amino group per molecule, and when the colorant compound contains more than one of the moieties, said moieties each contain no xe2x80x94OH groups, xe2x80x94SH groups, or primary or secondary amino groups.
In general, phase change inks (sometimes referred to as xe2x80x9chot melt inksxe2x80x9d) are in the solid phase at ambient temperature, but exist in the liquid phase at the elevated operating temperature of an ink jet printing device. At the jet operating temperature, droplets of liquid ink are ejected from the printing device and, when the ink droplets contact the surface of the recording substrate, either directly or via an intermediate heated transfer belt or drum, they quickly solidify to form a predetermined pattern of solidified ink drops. Phase change inks have also been used in other printing technologies, such as gravure printing, as disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,879 and German Patent Publications DE 4205636AL and DE 4205713AL, the disclosures of each of which are totally incorporated herein by reference.
Phase change inks for color printing typically comprise a phase change ink carrier composition which is combined with a phase change ink compatible colorant. In a specific embodiment, a series of colored phase change inks con be formed by combining ink carrier compositions with compatible subtractive primary colorants. The subtractive primary colored phase change inks can comprise four component dyes, namely, cyan, magenta, yellow and black, although the inks are not limited to these four colors. These subtractive primary colored inks can be formed by using a single dye or a mixture of dyes. For example, magenta can be obtained by using a mixture of Solvent Red Dyes or a composite black can be obtained by mixing several dyes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,560, U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,761, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,852, the disclosures of each of which are totally incorporated herein by reference, teach that the subtractive primary colorants employed can comprise dyes from the classes of Color Index (C.I.) Solvent Dyes, Disperse Dyes, modified Acid and Direct Dyes, and Basic Dyes. The colorants can also include pigments, as disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,335, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference. U.S. Pat. No. 5,621,022, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses the use of a specific class of polymeric dyes in phase change ink compositions.
Phase change inks have also been used for applications such as postal marking, industrial marking, and labelling.
Phase change inks are desirable for ink jet printers because they remain in a solid phase at room temperature during shipping, long term storage, and the like. In addition, the problems associated with nozzle clogging as a result of ink evaporation with liquid ink jet inks are largely eliminated, thereby improving the reliability of the ink jet printing. Further, in phase change ink jet printers wherein the ink droplets are applied directly onto the final recording substrate (for example, paper, transparency material, and the like), the droplets solidify immediately upon contact with the substrate, so that migration of ink along the printing medium is prevented and dot quality is improved.
Compositions suitable for use as phase change ink carrier compositions are known. Some representative examples of references disclosing such materials include U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,932, U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,369, U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,948, U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,956, U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,045, U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,560. U.S. Pat. No. 5,006,170, U.S. Pat. No. 5,151,120, U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,852, U.S. Pat. No. 5,496,879, European Patent Publication 0187352, European Patent Publication 0206286, German Patent Publication DE4205636AL, German Patent Publication DE4205713AL, and PCT Patent Application WO 94/04619, the disclosures of each of which are totally incorporated herein by reference. Suitable carrier materials can include paraffins, microcrystalline waxes, polyethylene waxes, ester waxes, fatty acids and other waxy materials, fatty amide containing materials, sulfonamide materials, resinous materials made from different natural sources (toll oil rosins and rosin esters, for example), and many synthetic resins, oligomers, polymers, and copolymers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,864,002 (Stephens et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses a method of providing for manufacturing a colored polymer resin having the steps of: (a) blending a disazo colorant into a mixture of monomers, the colorant having a poly(oxyalkylene) substituent comprising from 2 to 200 alkylene oxide residues, bonded to each end of the disazo chromophore, the poly(oxyalkylene) substituent having a nucleophilic terminal group which is capable of reacting with at least a portion of the monomers; (b) providing conditions under which the monomers and disazo colorant polymerize to form a colored polymer resin.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,833 (Hines et al.), the disclosure, of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses colorants and compositions useful as a fugitive or permanent colorant for a variety of substrates, or as intermediates for their manufacture, and having one or more improved properties of enhanced aqueous washability, compatibility with and non-extractibility from thermoplastic resins, or reactivity with resins having reactive functionality, said composition having the formula C(Z)1-8 wherein C is the residue of a reactant having from 1 to 8 nucleophilic site residues to which the Z moieties are attached; said Z moieties containing at least about 60 weight percent of poly(oxyalkylene) which comprises (a) at least one glycidol residue segment of 2 to 6 glycidol residues attached to a nucleophilic site of C, wherein said poly(oxyalkylene) contains a total of from 2 to 20 glycidol residues, (b) and wherein said poly(oxyalkylene) further contains the residues of one or more other epoxide reactants of ethylene oxide (EO), propylene oxide (PO), or butylene oxide (BO), or mixtures thereof, wherein said poly(oxyalkylene) contains a total of from about 10 to about 600 of said EO, PO, or BO residues, or mixtures thereof, at least about 75 mole percent of which are EO residues, (c) and with the provisions that the ratio of the total of xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94POxe2x80x94 and xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94BOxe2x80x94 linkages of all glycidol residues to the total of all functional oxy linkages of said glycidol residues is less than one, and the molar ratio of EO residues to glycidol residues is from 4 to 75.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,921 (Moody et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses primary hydroxyl enhanced colorants having markedly improved reactivities in e.g., polyurethane foams for imparting permanent coloring thereto, the colorants having the formula C-(Z)1-4 wherein C is an azo, methine, or azomethine chromogen and Z is a poly(oxyalkylene) moiety comprising (1) at least two (A) units independently selected from those of the formulae xe2x80x94CH2CH(Oxe2x80x94T)CH2O xe2x80x94 or xe2x80x94CH2CH(Oxe2x80x94T)CH2Oxe2x80x94T and (2) from none to about 200 (B) units of the formula (xe2x80x94ROxe2x80x94) wherein R is straight or branched chain hydrocarbon of 2 to 4 carbons, T is a moiety of the formula xe2x80x94CH2CH(R1)xe2x80x94Oxe2x80x94(RO)0-40CH2CH2OH wherein R1 is selected from unsubstituted or substituted alkyl, aryl, alkenyloxyalkyl, alkoxyalkyl, or aryloxyalkyl, and wherein the A units comprise at least 0.5 percent of the total A+B units.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,460 (Hines et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses azo chromophores having polyoxyalkylene substituents that are linked together by a covalent bond or by an intervening connecting group to form dimers or trimers. The polyoxyalkylene substituents are straight or branched chain polymers primarily of ethylene oxide which make the dimer and trimer colorants useful as fugitive tints.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,938 (Kluger et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses enhanced branched chain hydroxyl compounds of formula Y-(Z)1-6 wherein Y is the residue of a nucleophile devoid of conjugated divalent linking moieties, and each Z is a poly(oxyalkylene) moiety having a molecular weight of from about 200 to 10,000 and containing at least one glycidol residue, wherein at least one of the primary oxy sites of said glycidol residue is linked preferably directly to a first epoxide residue of three or more carbons, and wherein said first epoxide residue is linked through a secondary oxy site preferably directly to a second epoxide reside having a primary terminal hydroxyl.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,043,013 (Kluger et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses a washable aqueous ink composition having a viscosity of from about 1.0 to about 6.0 centipoise and containing from about 10 to about 50 percent by weight of one or more polymeric colorants of the formula
{R1[(RO)axe2x80x94Y]b}c
wherein X is a polar group such as sulfonic acids, sulfonic acid salts, sulfonamides, sulfonates or the like: R is alkylene; Y is H, alkanoyl, carbamoyl, or the like; R1 is nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, or a sulfur-containing divalent linking group; a is an integer of from six to about forty; b and c are each independently selected from one or two; d is an integer of from one to four; the product of (a) (b) (c) is an integer of from 6 to about 40; and CHROM is a chromophore such as nitro, nitroso, monoazo, disazo and trisazo, diarylmethane, triarylmethane, xanthane, acridine, methine, thiazole, indamine, azine, oxazine, or anthraquinone, wherein the (RO)a moiety is bonded to a carbocyclic aromatic ring of the (CHROM) through R1.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,254 (Kluger et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses a process for coloring polyurethane resins during the production of some with reactive colorants derived from polyalkoxytrifluoroaniline intermediates. These colorants impart increased brightness in shade for both aromatic and heteroaromatic derivatives and increased resistance to stannous octanoate catalyst over conventional polymeric colorants derived for heteroaromatic compounds. These colorants have the structure 
wherein R1 is selected from H, a lower alkyl group containing from 1 to about 10 carbon atoms, CH2Cl, CH2OH, phenyl, or 
where R6 is H or a lower alkyl group containing from 1 to about 9 carbon atoms; R2 is selected from OH, NH2, or SH; R3 is selected from a lower alkyl group containing from 1 to about 9 carbon atoms, cyanoalkyl, acetoxyalkyl, or 
where R1 and R2 are as given above; R4 is H, CF3, a lower alkyl group containing from 1 to about 9 carbon atoms, Cl, or Br and n is 0 or an integer from 1 to about 125. R5 is an aromatic or heteroaromatic containing group, said colorants being resistant to stannous octanoate, being characterized as having improved brightness and which have functionality through reactive substituents thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,064 (Moore et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses a compound of the formula 
wherein R1 is selected from alkyl, halide, or alkoxy; R2 is selected from H or alkyl; Y is a number of from 2 to about 200; and Z is selected from H or 
where W is alkyl.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,454 (Moore et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses a compound of the formula 
wherein R1 is selected from alkyl, halide, or alkoxy; R2 is selected from H or alkyl; Y is a number of from 2 to about 200; and Z is selected from H or 
where W is alkyl.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,400,320 (Keller et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses fugitive tints which are characterized by the formula 
where R is selected from meta-toluidene, meta-amino phenol, aniline, or dimethoxy aniline, A is selected from N, O, S, or CO2; the alkylene group of the alkyleneoxy constituent contains from 2 to about 4 carbon atoms; n is an integer of from 2 to about 300; m is 1 when A is O, S, or CO2, and 2 when A is N; x is an integer of from 1 to about 5; and the product of n times m times x (nxc2x7mxc2x7x) is from 2 to about 400. Also disclosed is a process for preparing alkyleneoxy fugitive tints.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,729 (Cross et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses a process for coloring thermosetting resins, made by polyaddition reaction of a nucleophile with an electrophile, with a polymeric liquid reactive coloring agent suitable for incorporation in the resin with the formation of covalent bonds, said coloring agent having the formula
R-(polymeric constituent-X)n
wherein R is an organic dyestuff radical; the polymeric constituent is selected from polyakylene oxides and copolymers of polyalkylene oxides in which the alkylene moiety of the polymeric constituent contains 2 or more carbon atoms and such polymeric constituent has a molecular weight of from about 44 to about 1500; and n is an integer of from 1 to about 6; and X is selected from xe2x80x94OH, xe2x80x94NH2, and xe2x80x94SH, said coloring agent being added in an amount sufficient to provide coloration of said thermosetting resin.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,840 (Hugl et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses polyurethane plastics that are dyed with dyestuffs of the formula 
wherein R1 denotes hydrogen, halogen, optionally substituted C1-C4 alkyl, optionally substituted C1-C4 alkoxy, and optionally substituted C1-C4 alkylcarbonylamino and R2 denotes hydrogen, optionally substituted C1-C4 alkyl, and optionally substituted C1-C4 alkoxy, while A and B denote optionally branched alkylene chains which can be identical or different and preferably have 2 to 6 carbon atoms, with formation of covalent bonds, in that the dyestuffs are added before or during the polyaddition reaction to the reaction mixture of polyol and polyisocyanate or to one of the components.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,994,835 (Wolf et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses dispersions of dyestuffs which contain at least one free amino or hydroxyl group capable of reacting with isocyanates under the conditions of polyaddition and liquids in which the dyes are soluble to an extent less than 2 percent which are suitable for the production of colored polyurethane foams. The dye dispersions can be added before or during the polyaddition reaction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,270,363 (Kluger et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses a colorant for natural or synthetic resinous or polymeric materials, having the formula Axe2x80x94[SO2xe2x80x94N(R2)xe2x80x94Y]1-4 wherein R2 is selected for example from hydrogen, methyl, cyclohexyl, phenyl or Y; A is a nonionic metallophthalocyanine chromophore which can be substituted for example with halogen, alkyl, alkoxy, alkylthio, or aryloxy; Y is a poly(oxyalkylene) moiety containing at least three monomeric units or mixtures thereof of the formula (xe2x80x94ROxe2x80x94) wherein each R is straight or branched alkylene of 1 to 4 carbons or mixtures thereof, up to about 20 mole percent of said monomeric units may be connected by one or more linking groups such as alkyleneoxy, xe2x80x94NHxe2x80x94, or xe2x80x94NHCONHxe2x80x94, and wherein Y can be terminated by hydrogen, or by at branch substituents, containing 1 to 3 groups or moieties selected from alkyl, cycloalkyl, acyl, or aryl; wherein any of the above recited hydrocarbon groups, moieties or substituents may themselves be substituted with up to four substituents selected, for example, from alkyl, halogen, mercapto, alkoxycorbonyl, hydroxy, alkoxy, or the like; and wherein each aliphatic hydrocarbon portion or moiety of the groups, moieties or substituents recited above contains from 1 to 20 carbons.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,203 (Kluger et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses thiophene based colorants useful for coloring thermoset resins such as polyethylenes being of the formula 
wherein R1, R2, and R3 are selected from halogen, carboxylic acid, alkanoyl, aryloyl, carbocyclic forming polymethylene chains, alkyl, aryl, cyano, thioalkyl, dithioalkyl, thioaryl, dithioaryl, thiocyano, carboxyalkyl, carboxyaryl, amidoalkyl, amidodialkyl, amidoaryl, amidodiaryl, oxyalkyl, thioamidoalkyl, thioamidodialkyl, or hydrogen when an adjacent group is isobutyryl; R4, R5, and R7 are selected from hydrogen alkyl, oxyalkyl, sulfonamidoalkyl, sulfonamidoaryl, amidoalkyl, amidodialkyl, amidoaryl, amidodiaryl, halogen, thioalkyl, and thioaryl: and R8 and R9 are selected from polyalkylene oxide, copolymers of polyalkylene oxides, and hydroxyalkylenes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,846 (Rekers et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses a process for coloring polyurethane resins made by a polyaddition reaction of a polyol and an isocyanate which comprises adding to the reaction mixture before or during the polyaddition reaction a reactive coloring agent suitable for incorporation in the resin with the formation of covalent bonds,said coloring agent having the formula 
in which R1 and R2 are independently selected from an alkyl group having from 1 to about 12 carbon atoms, X is xe2x80x94CH2xe2x80x94, a and axe2x80x2 are integers from 1 to about 6, and Y and Yxe2x80x2 are independently selected from polymeric units of hydroxy alkylenes or alkylene oxide monomers selected from ethylene oxide, propylene oxide, butylene oxide, cyclohexene oxide, or glycidol, b and bxe2x80x2 are independently either 0 or 1, and Z and Zxe2x80x2 are reactive groups independently selected from xe2x80x94OH, xe2x80x94NH2, or xe2x80x94SH.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,507,407 (Kluger et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses a process of coloring polyurethane resins during the production of some with reactive colorants having the formula 
wherein R1, R2, R3 are selected from halogen, carboxylic acid, alkanoyl, aryloyl, alkyl, aryl, cyano, sulfonylalkyl, sulfonylaryl, thioalkyl, thioaryl, sulfinylalkyl, sulfinylaryl, dithioalkyl, dithioaryl, thiocyano, amidoalkyl, amidodialkyl, oxyalkyl, oxyaryl, hydrogen, sulfonamidoalkyl, sulfonamidoaryl, sulfonamidodialkyl, sulfonomidodiaryl, carbocyclic forming polymethylene chains, sulfenamidoalkyl, sulfenamidodialkyl, sulfenamidoaryl, sulfenamidodiaryl, sulfinamidoalkyl, sulfinamidodialkyl, sulfinamidoaryl, sulfinamidodiaryl; and A is an organic dyestuff coupler that is resistant to stannous octanoote and flame retardant compounds and which has functionality through reactive substituents thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,919,839 (Titterington et al.), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses colored waxes made by reacting selected nucleophiles, including alcohol containing colorants, with an isocyanate. A phase change ink is made by blending the colored wax with a clear ink carrier composition. The clear ink carrier composition can be a fatty amide-based material and/or a combination of isocyanate-derived resins in which the order of addition of the isocyanate and the different nucleophiles can tailor the distribution of diurethane, mixed urethane/urea, and/or di-urea molecules in the final resin product. The colored wax materials are useful as ingredients with phase change ink carrier compositions to make phase change ink jet inks.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,456,725 (Bruhnke), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses a process for temporarily coloring a polyamide substrate whereby a poly(oxyalkylene) substituted methine colorant is applied to the substrate followed by heating the substrate with superheated steam at a temperature of 250xc2x0 F. or greater, which effectively decolorizes the methine colorant.
PCT Patent Application WO 97/13816, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses a colored material suitable for use in a hot melt ink comprising a oligomeric hot melt ink jet vehicle formed of molecules having a backbone and at least one pendant side-chain. A dyestuff is reacted onto the backbone. The material is preferably obtainable as the reaction product of an aliphatic or aromatic mono- or di-isocyanate and a hydroxyl group functional dye component, and optionally one or more other suitable material. Such suitable materials include mono- and dihydric alcohols, primary and secondary monoamines, functional amides, hydroxyl functional amines and hydroxyl containing components having a terminal unsaturated bond.
xe2x80x9cPolymeric Colorants,xe2x80x9d J. Miley, IUPAC Pure and Applied Chemistry, Vol. 68, No. 7, p. 1423 (1996), the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference, discloses specific examples of polymeric colorants and how they meet functional requirements.
While known compositions are suitable for their intended purposes, a need remains for improved reactive methine colorants. In addition, a need remains for reactive methine colorants that are easily purified. Further, a need remains for reactive methine colorants that exhibit reduced toxicity. Additionally, a need remains for reactive methine colorants that are liquid at room temperature. There is also a need for reactive methine colorants that can be tailored for compatibility with various hydrophobic or hydrophilic applications. In addition, there is a need for reactive methine colorants that, when reacted with or reacted to form oligomers or polymers such as polyurethanes, polyanhydrides, or the like, resist migration and/or settling. Further, there is a need for reactive methine colorants that, when reacted with other materials, do not result in the formation of products of undesirably high molecular weight. Additionally, there is a need for reactive methine colorants that, when reacted with other materials, do not result in the formation of products with undesirable crosslinking. A need also remains for reactive methine colorants that, when reacted with other materials, form products suitable for use in phase change ink compositions. In addition, a need remains for reactive methine colorants that, when reacted with other materials, form products that, when incorporated into phase change ink compositions, exhibit reduced precipitation of the colorant from the ink. Further, a need remains for reactive methine colorants that, when reacted with other materials, form products that, when incorporated into phase change ink compositions, exhibit reduced clogging of printer heads and resulting printer failure
The present invention is directed to a colorant compound of the formula 
wherein R is an alkyl group, an aryl group, an arylalkyl group, or an alkylaryl group, and wherein R can be joined to the phenyl moiety to form a ring, each Rxe2x80x2, independently of the others, is a halogen atom, an alkyl group, an alkoxy group, a nitrile group, a nitro group, an amide group, or a sulfonamide group, z is an integer of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4, n is an integer representing the number of carbon atoms in each repeat alkylene oxide unit, x is an integer representing the number of repeat alkylene oxide units, and A and B each, independently of the other, are hydrogen atoms, halogen atoms, tertiary amino groups, imine groups, ammonium groups, cyano groups, pyridine groups, pyridinium groups, ether groups, ester groups, amide groups, sulfate groups, sulfonate groups, sulfide groups, sulfoxide groups, phosphine groups, phosphonium groups, phosphate groups, nitrile groups, mercapto groups, nitro groups, sulfone groups, acyl groups, azo groups, cyanato groups, alkyl groups, alkoxy groups, aryl groups, aryloxy, groups, arylalkyl groups, arylalkyloxy groups, alkylaryl groups, or alkylaryloxy groups, wherein said colorant has no more than one xe2x80x94OH, xe2x80x94SH, or primary or secondary amino group per molecule. Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a compound comprising two or more moieties of the formula 
wherein R is an alkyl group, an aryl group, an arylalkyl group, or an alkylaryl group, and wherein R can be joined to the phenyl moiety to form a ring, each Rxe2x80x2, independently of the others, is a halogen atom, an alkyl group, an alkoxy group, a nitrile group, a nitro group, an amide group, or a sulfonamide group, z is an integer of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4, n is an integer representing the number of carbon atoms in each repeat alkylene oxide unit, x is an integer representing the number of repeat alkylene oxide units, and A and B each, independently of the other, are hydrogen atoms, halogen atoms, tertiary amino groups, imine groups, ammonium groups, cyano groups, pyridine groups, pyridinium groups, ether groups, ester groups, amide groups, sulfate groups, sulfonate groups, sulfide groups, sulfoxide groups, phosphine groups, phosphonium groups, phosphate groups, nitrile groups, mercapto groups, nitro groups, sulfone groups, acyl groups, azo groups, cyanato groups, alkyl groups, alkoxy groups, aryl groups, aryloxy groups, arylalkyl groups, arylalkyloxy groups, alkylaryl groups, or alkylaryloxy groups, wherein said moieties each contain no xe2x80x94OH groups, xe2x80x94SH groups, or primary or secondary amino groups; said moieties being linked by a central atom or group of atoms or bonded to a polymer. Yet another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a phase change ink comprising a phase change carrier and a colorant compound comprising one or more moieties of the formula 
wherein R is an alkyl group, an aryl group, an arylalkyl group, or an alkylaryl group; and wherein R can be joined to the phenyl moiety to form a ring, each Rxe2x80x2, independently of the others, is a halogen atom, an alkyl group, an alkoxy group, a nitrite group, a nitro group, an amide group, or a sulfonamide group, z is an integer of 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4, n is an integer representing the number of carbon atoms in each repeat alkylene oxide unit, x is an integer representing the number of repeat alkylene oxide units, and A and B each, independently of the other, are hydrogen atoms, halogen atoms, tertiary amino groups, imine groups, ammonium groups, cyano groups, pyridine groups, pyridinium groups, ether groups, ester groups, amide groups, sulfate groups, sulfonate groups, sulfide groups, sulfoxide groups, phosphine groups, phosphonium groups, phosphate groups, nitrile groups, mercapto groups, nitro groups, sulfone groups, acyl groups, azo groups, cyanato groups, alkyl groups, alkoxy groups, aryl groups, aryloxy groups, arylalkyl groups, arylalkyloxy groups, alkylaryl groups, or alkylaryloxy groups, wherein, when the colorant compound contains exactly one of the moieties, the moiety contains no more than one xe2x80x94OH, xe2x80x94SH, or primary or secondary amino group per molecule, and when the colorant compound contains more than one of the moieties, said moieties each contain no xe2x80x94OH groups, xe2x80x94SH groups, or primary or secondary amino groups.